Interest Shown In Alan Smith – But He’s Going Nowhere

There are stories going around at Newcastle that a number of Premier League clubs have been impressed with the form shown by Alan Smith so far this season, in his new position as a holding midfielder.

Alan Smith – happy at Newcastle

A source close to Smith told the Evening Chronicle today:

“There is interest in Alan and his form has been noticed by a few clubs, but he wants to stay at Newcastle and get them promoted.”

“He has always felt that he doesn’t want to leave and that hasn’t changed.”

We don’t think we are saying anything that Alan wouldn’t agree with, when we say Alan has been a huge disappointment since he signed from Manchester United in the summer of 2007.

And it’s really only this season that we have seen Alan in top form, and of course he also has great leadership capabilities and is captain of the team, as Nicky Butt struggles to hold his place in the side.

So we are interested why this news story would arise at this time, as Alan still has lots to repay Newcastle, and we’re sure that’s exactly what he wants to do.

Everton boss David Moyes is a long-term admirer of Smith and tried to sign him in August last year – only for the move to fall through.

And the Evening Chronicle is reporting that in fact many clubs showed an interest in Smith during the summer transfer window, but interim boss Chris Hughton was unwilling to let him go, and apparently both Chris and the player himself were in agreement with that.

Alan has shown both great leadership and good form this season, and was one of the players who put forward the players’ committee, that has helped ease the significant burden on caretaker manager Chris Hughton, and was formed after the 6-1 debacle at Leyton Orient.

Smith’s emergence this season reflects well on the way Chris Hughton has been able to get the very best out of the players left at his disposal, following the haphazard way in which Newcastle players were allowed to leave the club in the summer.

Of course Alan has also had a terrible time with injuries in his time at Newcastle but now, fingers crossed, he is back to full fitness and will maintain that through the end of the season.

If Alan keeps playing like he has been, and Newcastle do eventually make promotion this season, he will be one player that Newcastle fans will remember who buckled down, when everything looked black, and showed pride and passion, and got the club back up to the Premier League – and at the first attempt.

That’s quite a legacy that Smith would leave, and we think Alan will be very happy if he can do that.

7 comments so far

In terms of effort, Smithie has been our 110%er this season. I would hate to see him go. Shaky start at the toon, but along with Enrique he has been one of our best performers. Should we sell either player, we can forget about promotion.

he may want to stay, but if Ashley is still here come Jan I think he will be sold, especially with Barton, Nolan, Guth and Butt all able to play in a similar role. I hope he stays tho, never rated him in this position but he’s done well..

doubt he’d be sold in Jan, unless we’re obviously going down in flames. If we’ve already paid him half a season’s wages and he’s been so instumental in our success, why would MA jeopardize a promotion bid, which is worth far more than Smith’s wages, by selling him. That said, he’s probably out the door come Jan. lol. Let’s hope not!

I was very excited about him when he scored against Sampdoria on his debut. I’m very glad to see him being so pivitol.

We need Smith to stay and I believe he genuinely wants to stay and play for NUFC. In many ways he has been a revelation and I think my previous doubts about him are now proven unjustified. Trouble is Ashley would sell his own mother let alone our best players.

health update

I was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in February 2017 and completed four months of chemotherapy in late July and will continue to have hormone treatment.

After having various cat scans and a full bone scan recently, I met with the medical oncologist yesterday for a review of my condition.

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Ed Harrison

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